My laptop is Dell 5577. It came with MaxxAudioPro audio management suite which isn't written correctly. It causes high (3-5%) CPU usage while listening any audio. It isn't supposed to use any CPU. Disabling special effects doesn't help.
I used Sysinternals tool and found out that it's trying to access registry keys (Stream1, Stream2 etc) that don't exist. It keeps looking for these keys hundreds of times per second, so my guess is that's why it causes high CPU usage. While there is no audio playing, WaveSvc.exe still uses 0.5% CPU; it isn't supposed to.
I partially solved the problem after disabling Wave Audio Services service from Windows Services so it won't start after a reboot, then disabling Waves MaxxAudio service from Task Manager > Startup tab. After a reboot there is no trace of WavesMaxx software running.
The problem I'm facing now is that when I remove earphones, the YouTube video pauses because the PC tries to switch the playback to speakers. I have to click the YouTube video and rewind it to resume the playback, this time with speakers. If I plug the earphones back, the speakers continue to play audio unless I rewind the video. To play a local audio file from earphones again, I have to go to Windows 10 "Playckback devices" and disable speakers.
Please fix the drivers, Dell! This is a brand new laptop and I'd hate to return it for a problem like this. It is a major inconvenience. Thanks!